How to Price 3D Printed Products: Margin, Shipping, Fees
You know your cost; how do you set the selling price? Price is not just "cost times a number": the marketplace fee is taken out of the selling price, shipping is another item, and bulk orders may need a discount. This guide combines all of it into one formula.
The selling price formula
Selling price = (cost × (1 + margin) + shipping + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − fee)
- Margin is added on top of cost (for example 50%).
- Shipping is passed through as is, without adding margin to it.
- The fee is taken from the selling price, so it enters as a division at the end.
- Fixed fee is the small per-order amount some marketplaces charge.
A step-by-step example
For a part that costs $1.163 (calculated in the cost guide):
| Case | Calculation | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Direct sale, no fee, 50% margin | 1.163 × 1.5 | $1.74 |
| Marketplace with a 15% fee | 1.745 ÷ 0.85 | $2.05 |
| + free shipping ($4 per package, 2 items → $2 each) | (1.745 + 2) ÷ 0.85 | $4.41 |
The same part ends up at $1.74 or $4.41 depending on fees and shipping. If you sold at $1.74 regardless, the marketplace fee would eat your profit and free shipping would put you at a loss.
Marketplace fees
Fees vary by category, seller level and monthly volume. The figures below are only a rough guide; always check the current rate in your own dashboard:
- Etsy: 6.5% transaction fee, around 3% + $0.25 payment processing, plus a $0.20 listing fee per item.
- Shopier: tiered by monthly sales, roughly 2.99–5.99% plus a small fixed fee per transaction.
- Trendyol and Hepsiburada: roughly 10–18% in hobby and similar categories.
Bulk discounts
As quantity grows, fixed costs such as setup and shipping are spread across more items and the cost per piece drops. You can pass part of that saving on as a discount: for instance 5% from 10 pieces, 8% from 25 and 12% from 50. The price-by-quantity table in the calculator shows how much profit remains at each tier.
Questions to sanity-check your price
- What is my net profit after fees and shipping?
- Are failed prints and my labor included in the price?
- What do competitors charge for a similar product, and how am I different?
- Do I still profit on a bulk order?
Frequently asked questions
What profit margin should I use?
There is no single right answer. Cost plus 50–100% is a common starting range; labor-intensive, custom or rare-material products can justify more. What matters is checking the net profit left after fees and shipping, not the markup alone.
Should shipping be included in the price?
Free shipping can lift sales but the shipping cost gets built into the price. If two items fit in one package the shipping cost is split, so each item carries less. The "items per package" field in the calculator shows this.
How does the marketplace fee change the price?
The fee is taken from the selling price, so if you price at "cost × (1 + margin)" your profit shrinks. The correct formula is (cost × (1 + margin) + shipping) ÷ (1 − fee).
Calculate for your own part: upload your file and weight and time fill in automatically.
Open the calculator